Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

25. On perusal of the pleadings on record, we find that after the screening/preliminary test was held on 22.3.2015, representations were filed by the candidates with a plea that the questions were wrongly framed. It is extremely important to note that there is no pleading in the writ applications that any of these petitioners ever filed any representation or objection with respect to wrong framing of Question Nos. 1, 14, 39, 40, 72, 81, 85 and 95. Having taken a calculated chance to succeed on the basis of the said screening/preliminary test, without raising any objection as regards wrong framing of these questions immediately after the screening/preliminary test was held or even after the pre- revised result was declared, these petitioners cannot, now, in our considered opinion, be allowed to take such a plea at this stage. Secondly, we find from the pleadings that the petitioners have attempted to derive advantage of certain apparent typographical errors in the question paper. Had such typographical errors been of such consequence that the petitioners were not able to deal with them, they could have approached the High Court immediately after having participated in the screening/preliminary test, which they did not do.

Illustratively, in Question No. 1, the year 1975 has been typed in place of the year 1976. Because of printing of 1975 in place of 1976, Question No.1 cannot be said to have become incorrect for the purpose of marking a correct answer. What was being asked in the said question was as to which part of the Constitution came to be amended by adding words „secular‟ and „socialist‟. Only because „5‟ was printed, in the question, in place of „6‟, it cannot be said that it became impossible for the examinee or the petitioners to mark the correct answer. Similar is the case with respect to Question No. 14, where the petitioners are trying to derive advantage of another typographical error inasmuch as the word „past‟ has been typed in place of the word „part‟. The question is apparently relatable to performance of contract with reference to provision indicated in the multiple choice answer. In any event, in the absence of any pleading that they had ever raised any objection with respect to the questions to which objections are being taken, the plea, now, taken, for the first time, by the petitioners, in the present proceedings, on wrong framing of questions, cannot be sustained.